He just posted an update with a production schedule. Here is a quote that deals with Bob's question.

"First off there's a production schedule in place which you hopefully will be delighted to hear. It should mean more regular videos for your viewing pleasure, starting in February. It also was suggested to give some more advanced tips, which I also will try to incorporate in the next episodes. If you have further feedback or suggestions, please hit reply and let me know!"

I never understood why this was an MLife benefit in the first place. I don't need Hendrik to explain layers or cook pots to me. I've spent years testing and researching gear and made my own informed decisions. An intro series like this, IF finished, and IF it is worth .02 would benefit people starting out in this area of backpacking. Those people are going to have basic memberships, because let's face it who wants to drop $100 on something they may not be interested in.

I agree, these videos are designed for beginners or, at most, those who haven't been in backpacking very long and want to increase their skills. IMHO, they should be made public for free, NOT reserved for MLifers. I understood from the original prospectus that these videos would be made free for the public. I haven't even bothered to look at more than the first because the intended audience can't view them.

I find it disturbing that there is no visible link to the series anymore on BPL - or at least I can't find one - , nor is there any explanation as to why. I've saved the link which you kindly provided to my Favorites for now.

I'm afraid this is going to quickly devolve into yet another BPL/Hendrik bashing "failure to deliver" thread when half the people posting have already expressed they're not even interested in the product in the first place.

Cool series from what I've seen so far, well filmed and edited, and great for beginners. I suspect that most MLIFErs that have been on this site for years could see that they weren't going to be the target market from the moment the first video came out. So what do people expect? Finnish magic beans that will lighten your pack or Scandinavian walking secrets that will revolutionize your efficiency? It's just backpacking. He's done a great job for what it is; wish I'd have seen his videos 6 years ago.

So Hendrik's behind schedule....Of all the things I worry about in this world, this isn't one of them.

----------------Ultralight A-Z will introduce you in an informative and entertaining way to lightweight & ultralight backpacking, and teach you the necessary knowledge and skills to hike safe & comfortable in the great outdoors. It really will help you to embrace a new mind-set which in turn will let you to walk more freely and healthy while furthering your enjoyment out hiking.

The series will introduce you in 26 episodes to the lightweight backpacking philosophy and principles, show you skills, tricks and introduce you to lightweight gear which will help you to be comfortable, safe and light on the trail. From the big three - shelter, sleeping & packing - over to the lightweight kitchen, food and cooking, dressing effectively for all conditions to how to make and maintain a packlist - the series will be a full primer to help you to lighten up, whichever level you aim for.

Additionally, I will make the the series available for free, for everyone, on Youtube and Vimeo.

-----------------

From the get-go this was an "introductory" level of videos. No misrepresentation from Hendrik.

From the get-go it would be free to the world.

There was supposed to be HD access for BPL members, better quality than what was to be posted for free on the Internet. I don't know how Hendrick and Ryan made this agreement, or if it was done during the Kickstarter campaign... But Ryan probably felt the video series help sell more BPL memberships, and Hendrik must have known the large BPL membership would be a source of charity, err... donations/pre-orders.

The only criticism is that he is 1 year behind schedule. This was supposed to be completed within 26 weeks of funding. However, Kickstarter stats show that 87% of funded projects are delivered late.

For those who donated, they are probably wondering why Hendrik has time to keep his blog (which I like) up-to-date, but can't complete the series. But really, did anyone think the videos would be "advanced level?"

Bottom line, this is the nature of Kickstarter. Buyer (patron) beware, or as the saying goes, "a fool and his money are easily separated."

Peruse the On The Web subforum for blogs. People self-promo and I'm pretty sure there's at least two compilation threads where people list their favorites. Put the ones you like in your RSS reader or email subscription.

I bought my BPL membership before the promise of UL A to Z, so I have no complaint.

I didn't donate to the Kickstarter project, so I have no complaint.

There are more pressing issues in the world, such as what pencil to take on the JMT, so I have no complaint.

Time for everyone to take a break and do some serious hiking this summer. When your summer hiking is over, you won't need UL A to Z, and you won't have any complaint -- unless you gave Hendrik money. But one may want to consider...

If you give money to ULAZ or whatever, best to just write it off immediately in your head. Maybe something will come of it, maybe not. Hendrick seems like a nice guy, maybe over his head or some life event happened, or maybe he's just a scamster, doesn't really matter.

That's a pretty cheap lesson if you now think you wouldn't do that again.

You're probably just venting and not worrying about it, but if you're anguishing over it, you're just compounding the problem, but you're doing that to yourself, don't blame it on Hendrick.

If it is a scamster, or the guy that ripped off Nick, those people are miserable people because they're always worrying about getting caught. And their world view is that people are always ripping each other off so they're always worried someone will rip them off.

Hey Jerry, It's just sad that it looks like project is, well I won't say dead, let's say just floating in the water. No propulsion. It was a good idea at the time. I do see now that there is another series produced that is similar in scope. Pay to watch content, pass.

It's a beautiful day here. Birds and all. I'm trapped at the house working on the honey-do list and like to watch some informative or entertaining stuff on the tube while taking a work break, waiting for laundry, etc..

I find the idea that Hendrik is a nice guy unproven. What is proven is that he has attacked people online without reason, called Americans stupid and number 1 in starting wars and stupidity. Nice guys don't do that.

Point is, he asked for $10,000 and used a contact in the USA as he could not use Kickstarter in Finland, as it's not allowed under Finnish law.

He promised a time line to complete, then said his time was being paid and he would deliver.

It's now over 16 months behind, has about the same in missing episodes and no open accountable explanation.

If he had applied in the UK for a grant, the award body would ask for the funds back as he failed in his goal. He also would suffer a loss of reputation.

If he had a contract he would suffer damages and again, loss of reputation. Yet he takes the money, fails to deliver, and some dismiss this after he states he was being paid for his time to film. He budgeted in the time and asked to be paid.

For me that's not acceptable, nor something to dismiss and move on from. He has damaged the trust of the online backpacking community that showed him trust and believed him.

Ryan Jordan, when challenged, I have found, gives an account and answers the questions put to him on twitter - for example - every time. He leads by example and Hendrik should do the same. My respect for Ryan has grown from seeing his openness, grace and willingness to answer the hard questions on his Kickstarter appeal.

Hendrik should do a public update.

Should open up the accounts on what has been spent on filming so far and on what items were needed for it.

Should explain the claim it would be better than YouTube when it is clearly not (out of focus, poor editing and filming)

Should explain why he has failed to get it made in the time frame, with plausible and believable reasons, after he had costed out the making of the A-Z. After all he has been making gear videos before this and editing them etc.

Interesting. Wonder if we'll ever see it here on BPL. To date, only 8 episodes (A,B,C,E,F,G,H, and K) have been posted to BPL, and as stated earlier, there isn't even a link to the series anymore. Here is the BPL series URL - it is still active but the link no longer displayed on the site.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/ULAZ.html

26 minus 8 leaves 16 episodes, and he expects to finish by the end of next month?

Maybe that's only for his subscribers (see Hiking in Finland link in the previous post).

I suspect we at BPL are totally out of luck. Well, at least we can't blame Ryan for this one.

It's of note that this thread http://www.ultraleicht-trekking.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1119&start=10 (in German) mentioned the comments I have left here. I have been informed that Hendrik took exception and some comments have been edited by the forum moderators.

Some people have commented I had no right to question. Well free speech, and a backer allows me They also try to deflect attention away from the points raised here. Classic diversion tactics to avoid scrutiny of the issue in question. So Hendrik again has more questions to answer: like did he try to have a forum post stopped as it linked to this thread here.?

To be honest, I didn't even know that the series continued after the first video "A". Of course I knew that was the intention, but I never saw it advertised on BPL for subsequent articles so I figured it was another BPL thing that got started but never finished. And that's partially true - only 1/3 of the videos have been published to date. I do find it odd that the videos that have been published aren't easily found, as if BPL doesn't want to advertise the fact that these are long over due.

However, I see the responsibility for this squarely on Hendrik's shoulders, as BPL just helped him finance and publicize his efforts. If Hendrik has taken advantage of Ryan (and by relation, us MLifers) and Kickstarter supporters, Hendrik should be held responsible.

There is being late and then in Hendrik's case come the 31st of July he would have had the money 2 years.

It's beyond a joke, or acceptable.

As a backer of this I apologise to the Members of BPL that you got your hopes up and have had delivered so little. Even worse there is 10 episodes made and you have no access now to them and only had eight. Yet Hendrik says nothing in support of the members here and we can all work out our own conclusions to that.

Meanwhile he is out and about tweeting photos of new expensive kit and telling the world all about it. He ignores the questions here, gets the ones on the German forum censured and on Twitter refused to answer questions.

"PBS director of content development Matt Graham, who signed on with Badenoch for the Web series that never materialized, doesn’t regret his decision. “He has a great personality,” says Graham...Graham harbors no ill will over the outcome, and he continues to scout through Kickstarter. But he plans to vet candidates more closely."

Great personality? Did the man even look at Badenoch's websites? He is a narcissistic evo-psych paleo-nut with a "vision." Charlatan is too kind a word.

Hendrik should give the money back. He has proven himself a fraud and an embarrassment. Or would-be embarrassment, had he any shame. Buy me a coffee? Buy me a lunch? Buy me a plane ticket so I can hike for free? Seriously?

My mother would call him a thief and a liar. Then she would spank him with a wooden mixing spoon. Or possibly an open handed slap in the face. This is a serious enough offense on her scale for that. Intermixed with guilt for good measure.

Correct. But what else can be done? It has been two years. Joking is the only way to relieve the pain for those who gave their hard earned money. And I would guess, as a percentage, BPL members were a large portion of the donation pool. Even if the project is completed by the end of August, I wonder if there will be any quality in them.

When I first looked at the crowd-funding model, the things that have happened with this project are exactly what I anticipated would be the norm.

Unfortunately, it leaves a bad taste and makes it difficult for people like Terry Abram, who delivered on time and exceeded expectations, to utilize this avenue for projects. Also, it must hurt folks and their reputations who recommend these projects and never thought the person would not deliver.

I really liked the title of my blog post that I linked to earlier in this thread, "Kickstarter, or Brother Can You Spare a Dime?"

I'm very sorry that it takes me so long to complete the series. The T-Shirt comes next month (will send an Email via Kickstarter then), the DVD when the series is complete. Updates by the end of this month, too.

However, I completely understand if you're not happy about this and would like your money back. I can offer you a full reimbursement (via PayPal), you could then continue to watch the series updates in Full HD as they come out but there wouldn't be a T-Shirt or DVD. If this is something you'd like, please let me know your PayPal address and I will see that you get your money during next week.

Again, I'm very sorry that I have made you wait. I underestimated the scope of the project and the time a baby and building a house takes. Please accept my apology.

Nick Terry asked me to say thanks for the support of the effort he had to put in to deliver the film as promised.

I for one don't accept the excuses Hendrik claims. Many of us in the same time period balanced busy jobs, growing families and building extensions to our homes. We know what we have and are committing too.

So for him to claim that as justification is poor, as he in fact had asked funding to pay for his work time to make the film. So this is not an acceptable excuse. His time was factored in and funded.

He also has been outdoors many times, bought lots new gear and tried other outdoor disciplines (cycling, climbing) in the time since funded to film the A-Z. Shows to me a lack of commitment and focus in the promises he made. Integrity would you assume drive you to put it right, and not get more outdoor kit and ignore the films.

Compare that to Terry who went filming, did nothing else as he felt honour bound to deliver.

Or Dave Collins who was funded $10,000 to make the Clever Hiker films and delivered as promised. Again he asked for the time to film to be funded and then got on with it.

"I for one don't accept the excuses Hendrik claims. Many of us in the same time period balanced busy jobs, growing families and building extensions to our homes. We know what we have and are committing too."

I am not giving Hendrik a "pass Go Free" card. I can be pretty vocal and irk people with my opinions -- as has already been pointed out in this thread.

Aside from the moral and ethical issues at hand, I can't be too critical as I did not donate to the cause. So I won't directly pass judgement on this particular issue. To be honest, I wasn't that interested in the content to begin with.

It is a shame that there has been a lot of public criticism of the ULA2Z and it appears the first response or offer to reimburse money just occurred.

Where is Hendrik when not buying new expensive gear and going climbing
on 07/30/2013 03:44:33 MDT

UPDATE:

Hendrik emailed this today:

Hei everyone!

Here's the latest with the production of Ultralight A-Z.

In case you missed the previous mention, this project is running late. I underestimated how long this would take and it's still going to be a while before the last episode launches. I'm concentrating on making this series the best I can and my impression is that the vast majority of you support this. If any of you find this unacceptable, message me and we'll work it out. I want everyone happy. My priority is for this to be as good as I can make it, and that's going to take lots of time, much more than I could have imagined when I started working on this.I'm currently spending a lot of my time doing client work to make ends meet. This slows - but not stops - progress, but is unavoidable.Backers who get a T-Shirt should check their Inbox for a Survey Email. DVDs will follow when the series is done.Below is a still from one of the coming Episodes, which will conclude the kitchen and stoves segment. Then it's two more Episodes and the free-for-all version will launch, which will be very exciting!

As always, I appreciate your support & your patience.

/hendrik"

Running late is untrue.. 2 years behind this week after being funded is the truth.

He was making videos before launch and had costed his time in to film each episode. So he was paid to make them. He had the funds and time.

Still no sorry to the BPL members here. No I will sort the missing episodes already made and address the questions. Nothing, all he does is jet off to outdoor shows, get more gear and ignore the questions.

Seems a case of no priority and this email update is poor as he has stated on his update to finish by the end of August.

Hendrik posted an update to all his Kickstarter backers last evening. I for one am totally happy with the speed at which Hendrik has been releasing these. He may have promised a faster delivery date but honestly if they were coming out much faster I'd probably not have watched them all yet.

"More than 40 years ago, when I was trying to learn to climb, by mentor told me that the number one rule for leading is this: "The leader never falls.""

Key to that is 40 years ago. Ropes, harnesses, protection pieces, belay devices are much muuuuch better now.

when that "rule" came out people were leading on goldline or hemp rope, placing pitons and doing a hip belay. So falling was not a good option since it was far less safe. Now you have nice dynamic ropes, good trad gear, comfortable/supportive harnesses and belay devices that make catches much easier.

still, today you need to know when a fall will be ok or not. there are still "no fall" zones where you could deck, hit something, pull a less than stellar placement etc.

I still have not taken a fall on trad gear but have taken plenty on bolts, i'd like to keep it that way.

Re: More questions than answers from Hendrik
on 08/10/2013 09:27:51 MDT

Thought this was kinda cheesy.

"Ken,

refund sent. I appreciate your support and am sorry that I am not faster in producing the Episodes. No DVD, though you stay on the list to watch the series. I'd appreciate if you don't go around telling that I issue refunds, there's enough talk about the project as is.

Re: Re: More questions than answers from Hendrik
on 08/10/2013 09:38:25 MDT

Ken yet more breathtaking arrogance from Hendrik. He should have said he would make it up to you. Have a DVD on me and sorry I failed, broke promise after promise. How he will get a full account of monies spent out in the public domain, and give a proven breakdown of film time and efforts to make more episodes.

Not: "I'd appreciate if you don't go around telling that I issue refunds, there's enough talk about the project as is" - unreal yet again from Hendrik.

Thanks for sharing the facts. I refused his offer to refund way back as he was seeking to deflect my questions. I wont allow him that.

Bob made a negative comment about Finnish culture, based on the actions of one person, (who isn't even Finnish in the first place, regardless of your interesting lecture on the EU). That's not cool. Do you think it is? Why take a discussion of the failures of a single person and see it as chance to make a throw-away insult about a whole country of people?

Anyway, this is about Hendrik (a person) and his failure to follow through on a project, for which we took money and promised deliverables which are grossly overdue.

Hendrik guides very little and based on his adverts this year has taken very few people on trips - and cancelled trips advertised. He is also not paid to test gear. Read his blog statements.

From HIF

"Do manufacturers and shops buy positive reviews?As I said above, I am 100% independent and do not write a positive review if I don’t think the item deserves it. There’s also no money involved if I write a review, although the gear might be sponsored. The advertising space on the right helps me to run the website but has no influence on the content"

That and the the little backpacking he does makes your point Miguel not add up to a valid argument. He has also altered comments on his blog to cover up gear and skill claims we have called him on. The myth is he is out all the time doing big walks as a guide. He does little in the way of backpacking. Read his trip reports for the year.

He has undoubted talents and skills, and in some fields is a authority and paid consultant. But that is not the discussion here nor his ethnic origins, or current nationality which matter not.

What matters is his handling of the A-Z and how he got people to fund it promising that it paid for his time to go film it. He has not fulfilled that what he asked the funding to pay for.

He took the money and has not delivered.

Also others have steeped forward sharing other things he has been up to and expressing their disgust at his conduct.

As we know Benjamin is a mate of Hendrik. Its looking more a case of deflection from the questions raised here and the lack of answers from Hendrik again. After all the German UL forum was badged to censure a debate on this subject according to my source. Seems a case of it worked there - so lets try it again.

Benjamin we again ask where has the money gone?

Hendrik has been paid to film the A-Z as he asked for that in his kickstarter appeal.

This year he updated us saying it will be done by the end of August. Now he says he cant say when. Odd as he costed, and planned his video production schedule for the Kickstarter appeal, and updated that plan this year when he announced the end of August plan.

Or is it a case he cannot go and schedule a 2 weeks of hard filming of the A-Z to get them done - as he cannot afford to do so?

As we have asked where is the money?

After all if he has the funds he has the time paid to go make the videos. So why is this such an issue?

He also told us they take longer than planned to make right. Now we see he can film while doing 10h of climbing in a day. So he should find it easy with a 10h dedicated day of filming to catch up would you not agree? Unless he was not filming and the photo was to simply deflect attention on his update? After all we asked for clarity on this - yet again no answers.

Miguel are you so anxious to coach your fellow, less cultured, American friends that you forget (or just don't have time) to ensure you place a perceived generalization into context before passing judgment on it.BC you chose to ignore the readily available context clues you formed a poorly rationalized emotional opinion which led to a superfluous, scolding, spiel, which in and of itself appears to highlight a generalization you have formed about your fellow, less cultured, American friends.

The real humor here is Dave was addressing a literal cultural generalization.

I didn't say you made a generalization or were stereotyping American culture, just that it certainly appears you hold a negative stereotypical opinion, based on you posting style (here and in other instances). I believe you can tell something about someone's point of view by the topics they choose to engage in and by their tack/tone in these conversations.

Even if Dave wasn't replying to another poster, your chastising post was (IMO) a gross overreaction.

Look, I don't want to get into a back and forth. If my impression is off the mark then at least you now how things can seem at this end of the screen.

Re Miguel saying: "There is is [sic] tendency for the Americans here (I'm not going to get into my background again) to gang up on anyone or any topic that is not American, a lot of it quite derogatory and condescending."

Condemning "the Americans here" seems just a bit indiscriminate. Maybe?

Well, it might be good to focus on the issue you raise -- lack of civility -- rather than lumping folks into buckets according to nationality (or gender, or race, or eye color, or height, or whatever other class that's facile but unfair).

Also, the qualifying term "tendency" that you applied to "the Americans here" didn't in any way limit the population under attack -- "the Americans here" -- but instead merely afforded them -- "the Americans here" -- the "redemptive" quality of having only a "tendency" rather than a calculated design to engage in arrogant disdain for other nationalities.

Sorry to drag this distasteful mess out further, and do agree that you made some good points about forums at BPL having gone downhill compared to the past. Just don't see that the blame lies with a particular nationality.

Might be worth considering that your good points are diluted, overwhelmed even, by an ironic measure of incivility toward Americans (for some reason) that indiscriminately attacks an entire nationality ("the Americans here") as the culprit for the coarse discourse at BPL lately.

It's a shame that folks (like yourself) are so frustrated by the tenor of many posts these days that those folks (like you) have become not only unwilling/unable to engage in positive postings as in the good old days, but even resort to the same tactic and tenor that is being condemned.

Like you, my following of BPL goes back a long ways, even before the forums became a part of BPL's website. And like you, I regret the loss of postings by the many folks who contributed to making the forums special in the past.

And I detest postings that appear directed at nothing but stirring up controversy for the sake of confrontation.

Enough preaching. To boil it down: individuals post; not nationalities.

How about something important, like a trip report? Summer's running out quick, and there must be a lot of 'em to post.

PS -- Hope to be exiting the Winds about this time next month. Don't expect a trip report, though, since it's not gonna be a monumental event. Just a good time.

Since Miguel admits to not reading short replies, probably won't read this. I'm so tired of people saying they don't post here anymore because we are all too mean. That's your fault as much as anyone else's. Good can outweigh the bad easily. But you need to add it in.

Simple fact about foreigners. Many are uncomfortable or unable to have a written discussion in English. I think that is the main reason. I don't go to any non English sites on a regular basis. Why should it be any different.

Challenge. Can Miguel reply to this in less than 150 words?

As far as Hendrik. He's got himself a mess that he, himself needs to deal with. End of story.

"Hendrik is a friend, and I hate to see him, or anyone, get flogged like this."

Well, I'd say when you take money from people in exchange for a product, and then you don't deliver in a (remotely) timely manner, I think folks would be rightly upset about it. I don't think that's "flogging" - I think it is people asking for proper follow-through on money given and promises made. If he's not delivering and not communicating, then he is creating his own problem. (And it sure looks like it's all bordering on what might be characterized as fraud right now.)

I also point out to Hendrik's friends here on this debate that he insults and creates ridicule, and when challenged on it we see nothing from you. But when we challenge him on the issues on the A-Z, we are wrong and it's poor old Hendrik. Sorry, not poor old Hendrik.

Hendrik did a crowd source fund by the back door, as it's not allowed in Finland. Then he broke promise after promise. He won't give an account as to where the money has gone to date publicly, nor has he managed to explain why he is so far behind with a believable reason.

One other key point on Hendrik, apart form his anti-American tweets that he conveniently deletes, is the small fact that his last update showed us a still photo from the next episode to come. Please point to the scene where that photo appeared in the episode on wood stoves? I seem to have missed it. Then I also note the poor sound, editing and focus of the filming for the promised better-than-YouTube quality which he said he would deliver and was part of the funding drive.

Also, he has the big filming schedule. So why still photos of the Alpine mountains as part of the film? After all, if he had this claimed plan, would he not have filmed scenes for the episodes as he went? Makes us question if he shot out Monday morning and banged a few scenes together, added in some still photos and called it episode W and says it's better than YouTube. Dream on if you think it is.

Shame, as the subject is of interest and his reasoning on wood stoves is sound.

With all your effort in pushing your Advent Calendar give-away on your blog we remind you it's coming up to December, and therefore 2 years since your first claimed finish date for the A-Z videos (you had over $10,000 to make them, funded by the kind online backpacking community).

You need to answer the substantive issues on the handling of the A-Z of Ultralight project, and your complete failure to deliver, let alone manage public relationships.

I've never dealt with Hendrick or sent him money. I did help fund a Death Valley trek for someone else who was supposed to produce a movie. The guy never delivered the goods and hasn't responded to a couple polite emails that I've sent him asking how the project was going.

Don't know the guy (Death Valley trek) or have any reason to believe that he was planning on scamming those who donated. I think that his ambition was greater than his abilities, came up short, and is too embarrassed to come clean.

As far as the Hendrick goes, what else can be said at this point and is it worth the energy drain when it's pretty clear that the series is in suspended animation until further notice?

Sometimes you just have to accept the fact that you got screwed, that there's nothing you can do about it, and move on.

Yes my friend Terry made the Cairngorms film and we got a treat to one of the most beautiful and wild places in the British Isles. Terry is a thoroughly decent guy who actually put himself through some severe hardships to make the film. In his words "it is a labour of love". He wanted to make an epic debut film for others to enjoy. There lies the difference between him and Hendrick who so obviously is a liar and a thief. FACT, people gave him money for a promise and he robbed them. Kickstarter helped Terry produce a great film for us to enjoy and Hendrick used the money for his pockets. Why don't the site owners of BPL ban him permanently? Have they taken any action or attempted to make contact with him?

I have no problem with venting. Lord knows after the fauxdini thread I'm good for at least a year.

I was trying to offer an explanation as to why more people might not have added their $.02 here than criticizing people for complaining. I think it's good to have a record of these events for future reference.

I agree with Jerry that it's probably best to consider these as charity and to be surprised if they deliver. I'm personally not jaded from my experience to a point that I wouldn't back a future product or film. Whether that donation be $0, $5 or $100 would obviously depend on the reputation of the developer and the proposed product.

Today, out of the blue, Hendrik emailed me saying he has refunded me. I never asked him to, and have not accepted this - I just want the finished A-Z of UL. He was paid to make the A-Z and his actions are in breach of the terms of KickStarter. Who I have complained to, as without a clear end-date Hendrik is breaking the rules they set.

He's trying to silence me, and others who raise questions on his conduct and failing to account for the monies funded him. It just shouts that he is hiding something.

But in his action of refunding me without asking, he has in fact opened the door to have to refund everyone, as he cannot treat anyone else differently.

So, Hendrik: either refund all and walk away, or go film and get it finished and stop messing the online backpacking community about and treating their kindness with contempt.

I took the refund. I asked for it. That does not however change my opinion on this whole mess of his. After seeing the episodes already produced I was left underwhelmed by their depth and quality of content. Let alone the amount of editing that makes them hard to watch.